Planetary Health Eastern Africa Hub

Contact: Dr. Eva Kantelhardt, Laura Jung

Duration: September - December 2021

Funding: DAAD

Summary:

Please have a look at our homepage:https://pheah.org/

Setting up an academic knowledge and teaching Hub for Planetary Health in the Eastern African Region

Planetary Health offers an interdisciplinary perspective on health, understanding human health as interconnected with political, economic, and social systems, as well as the natural systems of our planet. This holistic approach to health is becoming a key education and communication tool in order to illustrate the planetary emergency caused by climate change and the loss of biodiversity. In Eastern Africa, the ongoing pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of healthcare and social systems, making the existential necessity for much broader and deeper transdisciplinary cooperation in the coronavirus crisis as well as the ongoing climate crisis apparent.

The Planetary Health Eastern African Hub, which was founded in 2020, is a learning and teaching hub on planetary health in the Eastern African region, connecting universities and initiatives from various countries. The hub is intended to further link academic experts, health care professionals, researchers and other interested parties to formulate and try out relevant learning techniques and training courses in an academic context and develop planetary health education hubs in the Eastern African region. The ultimate aim is to create an understanding of the intertwinedness of the current pandemic, the increased loss of natural habitats and societal developments in the local context. Current activities therefore include consultations with Eastern African education experts, development of Planetary Health courses, collection of Planetary Health resources on the Hubs website, as well as online events and community outreach projects.